What The Direct Objects Of Perception? Flashcards
Direct realism argues that…
Objects are made up of matter, they occupy space and have properties that are perceived directly. We touch, see and hear things with no intermediary.
Naïve direct realism supposes that…
We see objects as they truly are
…. argued that we see different colors in … depending on whether they are … so colour is just an …. and not….
Berkeley, clouds, close up or far away, appearance to us, not objectively real
Why does perceptual variation help and hinder indirect realism?
It refutes direct realism by showing that some qualities are not inherent in objects- fits in with secondary qualities
However, there is an issue for Primary qualities as well. If you look at a circle at an angle it looks elliptical. How can we really distinguish between the ?
What is indirect realism?
Says that we are immediately aware of how objects appear to our minds, and sensations are a representation of the real world
What did Leibniz think about primary and secondary qualities?
There must be a resemblance between sensations and what causes them
Minute perceptions
Unlike Locke, he thought that the relationship between senses and the real world is not arbitrary “an ellipse… has some resemblance to the circle of which it is a projection on a plane”
How did Locke distinguish between primary and secondary qualities?
- Secondary qualities are ultimately caused by primary ones
- Primary qualities appear the same to us regardless of which sense we use
- Primary qualities really are in the objects themselves
- Primary qualities can be mathematically described
Who said that physical objects must continue to exist when unperceived?
Russell
“If a cat does not exist when I am not seeing it, it seems odd that appetite should grow during non existence as fast as during existence”
How did Berklely criticise indirect realism?
- perceptual variation-what looks small may look huge to a smaller animal
- we measure speed by how quickly our brains work
Give some defences of indirect realism
We don’t have a choice over experiences so they must exist outside our mind
If you forget about an apple, it will still rot
It takes us longer to walk through physical space to a house that seems to be further away
Give some arguments for idealism
You can’t imagine something without secondary qualities so you can’t separate them from primary qualities
Master argument- you cannot conceive of an inconceivable object
What did Berkeley think about reality?
What is real depends on the mind
All that exists are minds with ideas
What did Descartes say about heat and pain in a fire?
There is something in it, which excites in me these sensations of heat and pain
What did Locke compare the relationship between what you perceive and the actual qualities in objects as?
A word and an idea. E.g. The world ‘flower’ is associated with a real flower but doesn’t resemble it. Likewise, the colour we see in a flower does not resemble what it is really like but is associated with it.
